Richards: Give us a little more time

Friday 9 January 2009 00:04 BST

Manchester City defender Micah Richards believes it could be years before the club realises its full potential under owners the Abu Dhabi United Group.

Expectation levels have gone through the roof since the company took over last year but City have struggled to maintain consistency in the Barclays Premier League. They still, however, have a chance of lifting a trophy and face joint Bundesliga leaders Hamburg in the UEFA Cup quarter-finals on Thursday night.

Richards, who has come through the ranks at City, said: "There is pressure with the new owners coming in - people expect us to win every game. But we need room to build, maybe three or four years. That will be the time to judge us."

He added: "The team has changed a lot since pre-season. It was a case of people getting to know each other and we were trying out new things.

"We are more stable now and I do not think the pressure affects the players. We just give 100% every game. Hopefully we can take our home form into this game and get the result we need.

"This is a crucial match for us as we need a good result here. It is important to keep a clean sheet and if we could nick a goal that would be great."